The parallels are unmistakable. On one hand, you had the New Orleans Saints, a perpetually woebegone franchise barely afloat in a flood-stricken city. On the other, you had Mike Bell, whose attitude issues were threatening to sink his once-promising NFL career.

Who knew that together these two would navigate dire straits to find salvation, much less perfection?

It’s true. The Saints, whose fans once wore bags over their heads, are 13-0. Bell, who barely a year ago was wondering if he had wasted his last chance to play on Sundays, is piling up yards and resurrecting a career on the NFC’s best team.

But let the record show that before his ship came in on the bayou, Bell rediscovered himself in Colorado — thanks to a bunch of high school kids from Aurora who helped him remember just how much he loved playing the game.

Grandview didn’t win a state championship in 2008, as it had in 2007, but the players on that 2008 team helped save a career, if not a soul.

“I felt like my life was ruined, like I had wasted the opportunity of a lifetime because I had a bad attitude,” Bell said. “It really helped me, having the opportunity to be around those kids. I needed that. It humbles you, makes you not take things for granted.”

Bell, who was raised in Denver before moving to Arizona, had been cut by the Broncos just before training camp 2008. In the weeks that followed, he was out of shape, out of sync and all but out of hope. Not only that, he was consumed by bitterness after being shifted to fullback following a 2006 season in which he ran for 677 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

He had been the talk of training camp in 2006, an undrafted free agent named the Broncos’ starting tailback a matter of days into camp. But two years later, he was on the outside looking in. After a look-see from the Houston Texans didn’t lead anywhere, he was left to wonder if the phone ever would ring again.

What to do? Become a volunteer coach at Grandview, just as he had done during his days with the Broncos, when he worked with the track team.

“He needed to be around football,” said Grandview coach John Schultz. “I remember him telling them, ‘Guys, this doesn’t last forever. You don’t know when it’s going to be taken away from you.’ Mostly, I think it helped him gain maturity as far as his approach to the game. As time went on, he was saying, ‘I don’t care what I play. I just want to get on the field again.’ “

Said Bell: “They knew how painful it was for me. I kept expecting a call every Monday, but it never came. They would ask me about it and I’d say, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ Seeing them running around out there made me remember how much I love the game. It made me determined to make the most of it if I ever got another chance.”

Bell spent the rest of the summer rededicating himself to conditioning, dropping about 20 pounds from the 235 he carried several months earlier. He was ready to go the moment the phone rang, but no one called. The last straw came when the Broncos, despite an injury epidemic at tailback — at one point, they signed four in a week — didn’t show any interest.

For the record, Bell wasn’t surprised. Not after going through the motions in his final season at Dove Valley after being shifted to fullback by head coach Mike Shanahan.

“It was a subconscious thing, but I pretty much just gave up,” Bell said. “I was showing up and stuff. I didn’t want to dis-respect the coach, so I wasn’t causing a disturbance and running my mouth or anything. But I was just sort of there. Eventually they caught on to it.

“It’s a funny thing. A lot of times in life, you wonder how things could have been different. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a negative that they were moving me to fullback. I had a victim’s mentality. I’ve learned you can’t do that in this league.”

The NFL waits for no man, but it is good for the occasional lifeline. When the Saints finally called just before Thanks-giving 2008, Bell leaped at the opportunity. He was a new man with a new attitude and a new purpose.

“I’ve taken responsibility for my actions,” Bell said. “I felt like everybody in the NFL was looking at me as this guy who was out of shape and disgruntled. Who wants to sign somebody like that? My reputation was on the line, so I wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away.”

Long story short, Bell has become a solid contributor in the New Orleans backfield. When starting tailback Pierre Thomas was injured before the season opener, Bell stepped in and rolled for 143 yards on 28 carries. He has racked up 598 yards, second on the team to Thomas’ 713, despite missing three games with injuries.

Oh, and, by the way, the next game the Saints lose will be the first. It’s a long way from a high school field in Aurora to the unbeaten ranks of the NFL, and Bell has appreciated every step of the journey. And having his career rebirth play out in New Orleans, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, has made it even more special.

“It’s really been a surreal experience,” he said. “It’s mind- blowing. And the best part is, it’s not over yet. It’s unbelievable to see what it’s done for this city. They’ve been through so much adversity and turmoil, it makes you want to work even harder.”

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